Creating the research questions

So how hard can it be to ask a question? Depends on how important the question is really! Newby (2010, Ch. 14) helpfully breaks down the different types of research and the types of questions that we might associate with them, to ensure that our data stays true to the purpose that we set out with. In particular, the Action Research school of though appeals to me, because it serves to educate the practitioners themselves. The method embraces uncertainty, and has an interesting parallel with the concept of Constructive Alignment (Biggs & Tang, 2007, Ch. 4), in that we can gain insight into whether or not participants are actually learning what we profess to be teaching them. For courses with emphasis on people management skills, and such a broad range of applications, this could be invaluable for determining success and continued development.

Creswell (2009, Ch. 7) helps to narrow down the research question strategy further for qualitative and quantitative approaches. In particular, he gives advice about the choice of language to ensure that our research questions serve their intended purpose, and ensure that answers aren't biased towards (or against) theories through a poor choice of words. If our purpose is to avoid referencing theories directly, this could help to ensure that we gain richer insights that aren't clouded by arguments about theories or hypotheses.

After an initial attempt at devising research questions where I realised I did the complete opposite of what Creswell suggests, I have refined my research questions to the following:

Primary:

• How would participants describe their experiences of using online interactions to support a face-to-face training event?

Secondary:

• Describe your experience of socialising with other participants who you interacted with online before the training event
• Describe your experience of preparing for a face-to-face event where online interaction was required, relative to an event with no prior interaction
• Describe your experience of participating in online interactions around course related content after the face-to-face event

References:

• Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 3rd Ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
• Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. (3rd edition) Sage.
• Newby, P. (2010). Research Methods for Education. Pearson.